Breastfeeding Tips

Breastfeeding is a learned skill for both you and your baby.

It’s important to be patient as your baby practices how to latch and suck correctly. It’s also important to be patient with yourself as you learn about your baby’s feeding cues, positioning and latching your baby at the breast.

Overlake’s lactation experts have put together these tips you can use anytime you need a little help as you learn to work well with your baby.

You are also welcome to visit our parent boutique in the lobby of our Parent & Baby Center. The boutique has nursing bras in every size and offers expert bra fitting. We also have all the breastfeeding supplies you may need – including pumps for purchase and for rent. And we’re happy to help recommend the best pump for you.

Learn more about our parent boutique

How do I Know When My Baby Needs to Eat?

Your baby will give you feeding cues to tell you when they’re getting hungry. These cues include:

• Hand-to-mouth movements.
• Increasing movement during sleep.
• Mouth opening and closing. 
• Sucking motions.
• Side-to-side head movements.

How Often Does My Baby Need to Eat?

In the first few days, you’ll want to feed your baby at least 8 times in 24 hours. But many newborns will feed 10-14 times in 24 hours in the initial days or weeks.

Newborns frequently cluster feed, which means they bunch several feedings close together. Allowing your baby to cluster feed in the early days helps you make more milk. Why? Because milk is made on a supply and demand basis.

If your baby is extra sleepy and does not give you any cues that they want to eat, you can wake them every three hours to try to breastfeed until they eat.

How Long Should a Feeding Last?

Each feeding should be at least 10 minutes. But many babies nurse longer than that.

You can allow your baby to breastfeed until they show signs of fullness. Signs of fullness include:

• Sleepiness
• Less vigorous sucking
• Coming off the breast asleep and relaxed

There’s no reason to limit how long your baby stays on one breast. Have them stay at the first breast as long as they’re actively sucking and swallowing – and then offer the second breast.

How do I Know My Baby is Getting Enough to Eat?

Signs that your baby is getting enough milk include:

• Hearing them swallow during feedings
• Seeming satisfied after feeding
• Sleeping between feedings

You can also track their wet and dirty diapers in the early days. Tracking can help reassure you that they’re getting enough nutrition.

For wet diapers, the guidelines are:

• One wet diaper in the first 24 hours.
• Two wet diapers in the second 24 hours.
• Three wet diapers in the third 24 hours.
• Once milk comes in, at least 5 to 6 wet disposable diapers or 6 to 8 cloth diapers a day.

For dirty diapers, the guidelines are:

• First 24 hours: At least one diaper with stool.
• Day 1-2: Meconium (thick, black, tarry stool) in their diaper.
• Day 2-3: Loose brown-green stool.
• Day 4-5: Loose mustard-yellow stool.

Most babies lose weight before they gain weight. But this weight loss should stop around day four. Typically, it takes babies two to three weeks get back to their birth weight. If it’s taking longer, it’s time to reach out to a lactation consultant.

What is A Good Latch?

A good latch is when your baby is at the breast with a good attachment to your areola (the darker skin around the nipple).

A good latch is important for your baby to breastfeed well – and it’s also important for your comfort. During the early days and weeks, it can take time and patience for your baby to latch well.

Signs of a good latch include:

• Your baby’s lips are around the nipple and the areola, not just the nipple.
• The top lip is closer to the nipple and some areola shows above the top lip.
• More areola is taken in with the lower lip than the top lip.
•  Your baby has “fish lips”— their lips are flared out on the breast, not tucked in.
• You hear your baby swallow after every one or two sucks. Some babies swallow too quietly to hear, so listen for a slight pause in baby’s breathing, which shows they’re swallowing.
• You see a “wiggle” where your baby’s ears meet its temples.

Signs of an incorrect latch include:

• You feel pain.
• You hear clicking or sucking noises.
• Your baby comes easily off the breast.
• Your baby swallows little or not at all while at the breast.
• Your baby’s lips are tucked in.
• Your nipple is flattened or creased after feeding.

How Can I Encourage My Sleepy Baby to Nurse?

It’s not unusual for a newborn to have trouble waking up to feed regularly.

Here are a couple of tips to encourage a sleepy baby to breastfeed:

• Wake and unwrap your baby for feedings.
• Use waking techniques during the feeding. These include pushing their chin, rubbing their shoulders, back or behind their ears – and even tickling their feet.
• Practice breast compressions. While your baby is latched, gently squeeze the breast between your thumb and fingers (far from your nipple) while your baby is sucking but not actively swallowing. Then, release the squeeze when your baby stops sucking. This can help release more milk, which can help keep your baby actively feeding.

How Can I Stimulate the Milk Letdown?

• Massage your breast briefly before feedings.
• Put a warm compress on your breast before you feed your baby.
• Gently stretch and roll your nipple to make latch-on easier. This also stimulates lactation.
• Express a drop of colostrum onto your nipple to encourage your baby to latch and suck.
• Hold and support your breast to allow your baby to maintain their latch. Keep your thumb and fingers behind the outer edge of your areola.
• Latch your baby only when their mouth is wide like a yawn with their tongue down and forward.
• Make sure your baby is facing you and in close, nipple to nose. Bring your baby to the breast, chin first. Focus on getting your baby’s gums beyond your nipple and up on the areola.
• Avoid pacifiers for the first two to three weeks.
• Check for the signs of a good latch that doesn’t hurt (see above for tips).

How do I Prevent Sore Nipples?

At first, your nipples may feel tender, but they shouldn’t be sore or cracked. If you do have soreness:

• Know that nipple discomfort decreases within a minute of baby latching.
• Reposition and relatch your baby until you’re more comfortable.
• Break the baby's latch with your finger when you take them off your breast.
• Put expressed breast milk on your nipples after feedings. This can help with soreness. 

Even after you leave our Childbirth Center, we are here to help. If you have problems latching, have sore nipples or engorged, painful breasts, you can always reach out to an Overlake lactation consultant at (425) 688-5516. You can also learn more about breastfeeding through our breastfeeding classes.